King Benjamin defined the cause of this great torment: Therefore if that man repenteth not, and remaineth and dieth an enemy to God, the demands of divine justice do awaken his immortal soul to a lively sense of his own guilt, which doth cause him to shrink from the presence of the Lord, and doth fill his breast with guilt, and pain, and anguish, which is like an unquenchable fire, whose flame ascendeth up forever and ever. . But Mormons do not believe that just because a Prophet said it, that it makes it true. This is in contrast to the VAST MAJORITY OF PEOPLE, who will receive a kingdom of glory after the Final Judgment, and enter into one of three degrees of glory after the resurrection: celestial, terrestrial, or telestial kingdoms. Severe punishment for eternity, reserved for Satan and his demons as well as the sons of perdition, those humans who once embraced Mormonism and left to fight against the faith, even though they knew Mormonism was true. 14:1519). Thus, many would say I fight against the church. Do "apostates" go to outer darkness or telestial kingdom? It is the closest Mormon analogy to the concept of hell in most other Christian traditions. About 74 B.C. Mormons believe we existed before coming to Earth. Sorry ladies, you cant actually apostatize from the church, I guess (Someone tell Kate Kelly her excommunication is not valid!). Smith said this will be practically indescribable: The extent of this punishment none will ever know except those who partake of it. ). Even the wicked of the earth who never knew the power of God, after they have paid the price of their sinningfor they must suffer the excruciating torment which sins will bringshall at last come forth from the prison house. Circumcision. He wrote: But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death (Rev. Jesus proclaimed to Peter that the gates of hell would not prevail against the rock upon which He would build the Church (Matt. Think along the lines of a religious leader serving God but the opposite. ( Miracle of Forgiveness 129-30) The Lord Will Judge For persons not to receive forgiveness neither in this world nor in the world to come does not mean that they will be cast into outer darkness, for the sin of murder can be pardoned even though it is unforgivable. Yea, they are grasped with death, and hell; and death, and hell, and the devil, and all that have been seized therewith must stand before the throne of God, and be judged according to their works, from whence they must go into the place prepared for them, even a lake of fire and brimstone, which is endless torment (2 Ne. Yet I never was baptized and confirmed into this church. Hence, the term outer darkness. Alma 40. However, not once have I ever suspected such a person to be a closet believer in Mormonism. If Lucifer had not known the effects of his rebellion, how would he ever become perdition? What do Mormons believe happened in the pre-existence? But the children of the kingdom [i.e., covenant breakers] shall be cast out into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth (Matt. And their torment is as a lake of fire and brimstone, whose flames are unquenchable, and whose smoke ascendeth up forever and ever (Mosiah 3:2427; emphasis added). Banishment from the power of God. Nephis words can thus be applied to Jesus parable: the reason the rich man could not cross the great gulf to Abrahams bosom, or the reason the wicked could not join the Saints of God at the tree of life, is because the justice of God does not permit it. A lot of people wanted a source on that. So a heads up, this does not include you or any one who has ever been or will be born on Earth. 5:30). In Mormonism, it depends. This extreme punishment will not be given to any but the sons of perdition. Hell is a place prepared for the devil and his angels, D&C 29:37-38. The apostle John saw the final judgment and wrote of the destiny of the wicked: And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works. This is the choice of an individual to reject God. Lets go to modern revelation: that there would be no daughters of perdition. Joseph F. Smith Stan Larsen, ed., A Ministry of Meetings: The Diaries of Rudger Clawson, (Salt Lake City, Utah: Smith Associates and Signature Books, 1993) p. 560, Somebody called me up on the telephone and asked if there were daughters of perdition. Delving into the interesting bits about any religion to stem from Joseph Smith Jr. Joseph F. Smith,The Second Death,inBrian H. Stuy (editor). John did not define the second death other than to make it synonymous with the lake of fire and brimstone that awaits the wicked. What do Mormons mean by 'outer darkness'? - Quora In Mormonism, Outer darkness is described as "those who are unfaithful, those who will listen to Satan, who will lend a willing ear to his blandishments and to his allurements, when they go from this state of existence, they go into a condition where they are subject to his power. Jesus disciples were told not to fear those who could kill the body but to fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell (Matt. The term second death refers to spiritual death or separation from God. Meanwhile, I have known many who could be considered fighters against the church, including those who became involved in what could be considered anti-Mormon activities. He stated that converts made by the Pharisees became twofold more the child of hell than their teachers (Matt. Brigham Young University Often in the scriptures it is difficult to discern which helltemporary or permanentis being spoken of, since many references to hell in the scriptures are used in a nonspecific manner to simply designate a place or state of suffering for the wicked. 34:3435; note Almas repetitive use of the word state in Alma 40:1112; see also D&C 101:9091; 133:7073). Horror Short Film "Outer Darkness" | ALTER | Online Premiere 9:16) after the final judgment. The Book of Mormon teaches that only through the Atonement of Christ can one escape the damnation of hell. Jacob testified that without the infinite atonement all mankind would be forever subject to the awful monster, death and hell, and thus would become like the devil and his angels (2 Ne. Johns announcement of death and hell releasing their dead for judgment is augmented by the Book of Mormon prophet Jacob, who taught the same doctrine but provided significantly more detail. Cannot be saved at the last day; except W.W. Phelps who was classified as such by Joseph and then redeemed, and we should only trust prophets on the matter because they dont conflict, unless they do. The Book of Mormon provides another testament of the reality of a designated place called hell, where the wicked are consigned. Plagiarism and The Globe a comparative analysis, The Shunning Key by bwv549 - Mormon Bandwagon, https://www.lds.org/scriptures/gs/sons-of-perdition, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Son_of_perdition_(Mormonism), https://www.fairmormon.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/What_is_Mormon_Doctrine.pdf, https://www.fairmormon.org/answers/Plan_of_salvation/Sons_of_Perdition/Can_women_be_%22Sons_of_Perdition%22, LDS Church and Same Sex Marriage Timeline, The Pump LDS film and the original source, Ethan Smith, Hyrum Smith, Oliver Cowdery, Solomon Spaulding connections. But suppose, deep down, I do believe the church is true. But to pass it off as a belief of an entire Church, organization and people is wrong. Comparison Chart - Mormonism and Christianity - Apologetics The "authority" to marry a man to one wife is not the same as the "authority" to marry a man to more than one wife. . This extreme punishment will not be given to any but the sons of perdition (Doctrines of Salvation 2:220). Today, interpretation of these "outer darkness" verses are a subset of Protestant discussion on hell and annihilationism. Alma the Younger contributed even more insight on the second death when he gave the wicked people of Ammonihah a detailed description of the fate of those who harden their hearts against the word of God: Then if our hearts have been hardened, yea, if we have hardened our hearts against the word, insomuch that it has not been found in us, then will our state be awful, for then we shall be condemned. He had a sure witness of the Lord and willfully chose to follow Satan instead. Each person must reap the harvest of the seeds sown in this life. So apostates from the church are clearly included in this list. So, if you are directly listing to Satan, like Cain, and actively turning away from God, like Cain, then you can become a Son of Perdition. How impossible would it be for a former Mormon (with full knowledge, even!) By taking 2 Nephi 2:25 to its logical conclusion, we learn that Satan also fell that men might be, and that they might have joy! outer darkness - LDS Thought Hell - The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints In this state of torment Alma remembered his fathers teachings about Jesus Christ and his redemptive mission. Outer Darkness. Concerning the first resurrection John observed: Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years (Rev. 2. I can give you more than plenty of examples of that. Nephis commentary to his brothers concerning his fathers dream of the tree of life adds interesting insight into the possible meaning of the great gulf Jesus referred to: And I said unto them that it was an awful gulf, which separated the wicked from the tree of life, and also from the saints of God. Mormonism and popular media/"Big Love" and the temple - FAIR You'll need to do a few things to get the most out of your ex-Mormon candle. Source: https://www.fairmormon.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/What_is_Mormon_Doctrine.pdf. 40 talks in 40 days for General Conference, Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Dennis L. Largey was an associate professor of ancient scripture at Brigham Young University when this was published. When I was Mormon, I was taught that in order to be sent to Outer Darkness (I'm a woman, that will be relevant in a second) you had to have an UNMISTAKABLE KnOwLeDgE of Christ, and then turn your back on God and deny him. Jesus marvelled at the faith of a centurion he met in Capernaum and proclaimed that many would come from the east and west, and [would] sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven. And now behold, I say unto you then cometh a death, even a second death, which is a spiritual death; then is a time that whosoever dieth in his sins, as to a temporal death, shall also die a spiritual death; yea, he shall die as to things pertaining unto righteousness. The LDS version of the King James Bible and the Book of Mormon help us to understand that the word black is actually a Hebrew idiom, meaning gloomy, dejected, or spiritual darkness, and has nothing to do with skin tone. Mormonism. Which means that really, no one knows anything about this. Because of their disobedience, these spirits ended up not receiving bodies, a necessary ingredient to progress to mortality and be qualified for one of the three kingdoms of glory. How many people. . So I found one, by Joseph F. Smith, Thus we see that the first death which came into the world is also the last death which shall be pronounced upon the sons of perdition. [3] Larry E. Dahl, The Concept of Hell, in Doctrines of the Book of Mormon (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1992), 4243. What is the Book of Mormons contribution to our understanding of the New Testaments teachings concerning hell, or that lake of fire John calls the second death (Rev. [1], Other views include those of Zane C. Hodges who controversially suggested that it represents a place for those who make it to heaven based on their faith, but have failed to perform good works during their time on the earth.[2]. The followers of Satan who will suffer with him in eternity. Twenty-nine times the word hell is used with descriptive modifiers, for example, depths of hell (1 Ne. And the definition contains all of the pre-mortal spirits who followed Lucifer, which would imply that God created a lot more male spirits than women spirits and maybe thats why there was a war in Heaven. (-Joseph Smith in the King Follett Discourse), There is my definition I used in my previous post. Why practically nobody-including you, former Mormon-will ever end up in Please read, the source above, What is Official LDS Doctrine. Generally, the outer darkness is thought to be hell; however, many Christians associate the outer darkness more generally as a place of separation from God or from the metaphorical "wedding banquet" that Jesus is expected to have upon his Second Coming . No exact details are given. Joseph Fielding Smith who said that this class is composed of all who have known the power of God in this mortal life and then, having full knowledge of the power and purposes of God,rebel against him, putting Jesus Christ to open shame (Doctrines of Salvation 2:219-220. The Plan of Salvation kind of negates the reason for missionary work. ", Learn how and when to remove this template message, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Outer_darkness&oldid=1136269337, This page was last edited on 29 January 2023, at 15:14. This website is not owned by or affiliated with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (sometimes called the Mormon or LDS Church). Also, the whole thing about Daughters of Perdition. Yea, and it bringeth to pass the condition of repentance, that whosoever repenteth the same is not hewn down and cast into the fire; but whosoever repenteth not is hewn down and cast into the fire; and there cometh upon them again a spiritual death, yea, a second death, for they are cut off again as to things pertaining to righteousness. Other sources used in composing this topic: http://en.fairmormon.org/Plan_of_salvation/Sons_of_Perdition/Can_women_be_%22Sons_of_Perdition%22, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Outer_darkness#Usage_in_the_Latter_Day_Saint_movement, http://en.fairmormon.org/Plan_of_salvation/Sons_of_Perdition/Eventual_fate, http://emp.byui.edu/satterfieldb/quotes/Sons%20of%20Perdition.htm.